Family
by Lyndal
Summary: Short stories about the Weasley family before and after the events of Deathly Hallows. May contain spoilers.
1. Arthur

Family

Short stories about the Weasley family before and after the events of Deathly Hallows.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or subsequent characters.

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1 – Arthur Weasley

My sons, seeing as Bill is going to be married very soon I believe that it is time for that talk. Now Fred – George – don't roll your eyes, if you want to survive marriage you'll need a few handy tips. Yes Charlie, I'm asking you to listen too – no _he_ won't be joining us… if he wants advice, he can come seek it himself.

First of all, always back your wife up. Arguments lead to – yes Ron, the couch. And let me be the first to tell you that sleeping on a couch after your wife has sent you there isn't the most comfortable thing in the world. Oh, and you might want to think about doing the same if you come home late or after a night out with your mates – why? Well let's say that most women don't like their husbands showing up after bedtime smelling like cigarette ash swilled in beer.

Always remember important dates such as your anniversary, birthdays, your children's birthdays. Ok, yes George… oh you're Fred… I admit I'm not good at some of those things, but it helps. Your wives will be flattered that you remembered and won't spend the day fuming.

What was that Ron? Ah, to calm her down you can either conjure up a very nice bunch of flowers or some chocolates… just be careful about the chocolate, especially if she's one of those women who obsess about eating. Or you could offer to do something for her; that normally makes your mother happy.

Ah, Harry, nice of you to join us. Just make yourself at home, just telling the boys about marriage and fatherhood. You sure you want to stay? Well I'm honoured, Harry, I really am. Now where was I…?

What's being a father like? Why d'you ask Charlie? I see… Well, it can be quite difficult. Why? Because you don't want to be the bad guy. I know what I just said, Ron, but with your children it's better to be vague and change the subject. Being a father is so rewarding – what's with all the why's tonight? – Because you have produced a life and you watch that little person grow and become a unique individual. Nah, I didn't expect you boys to understand.

Anything else while we're here? What about you Harry? Well I have a feeling that this is pretty much the last time we'll all be here together like this, what with Bill off to become a married man and start a family of his own. One day boys – Bill where did the others go?

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Author's Note: This is the first of a multi-part series of short stories and drabbles. Please review and feel free to suggest story lines. 


	2. Bill

Family

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter… sigh.

Warnings: Spoilers.

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2 – Bill

Dearest Mum, Dad, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, and Ginny,

Fleur and I wish you a very Merry Christmas from France! The Delacours also send their best wishes, as well as a package for mum. Fleur's little sister Gabrielle is graduating from Beauxbatons this summer, and is quite excited about travelling the world and also stopping in to see us. She will be spending the summer here in Britain with Fleur and me to help her in her English, and to visit her niece.

Vickie loves France, as much as a one-year-old can. She enjoys Gabrielle's company, and her 'first' snow. We received your package today; Fleur thanks you for the shawl and immediately dressed Vickie in the lovely dress for Christmas lunch. Mum, thank you for the jumpers, they are nice and warm!

George, thank you for the 'supply', Monsieur Delacour and Gabrielle enjoyed the show thoroughly, although Madame Delacour was a little apprehensive of what the neighbours would think.

Ron, I'm glad to hear the news! I would've thought that Percy would've been the next one to enjoy what I have now, although it does make sense seeing as it is Hermione. How's the situation with Ginny going? Have they both come to their senses about having the ceremony in Britain, and not casually eloping in Australia?

How are things with that girl in Romania, Charlie? Maybe you could bring her to England for the summer so we could meet her. I'm sure mum has spoken to you about it numerous times already; hopefully her first impressions will be better than that of Fleur's.

Madame and Monsieur Delacour have invited mum and dad to spend New Years' with them in Paris, they are looking forward to repaying the hospitality that we provided them with at our wedding and would love for you both to stay with them.

I better send this now, or else it won't get there til the day after tomorrow! These French owls would rather stay in their roosts over Christmas than be sending correspondence back and forward from across the Channel.

All our love,

Bill, Fleur, and Victorie.

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Author's Note: Here is the second part! Hope you enjoy and please review! 


	3. Charlie

Family

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Don't own any Harry Potter characters.

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3 – Charlie

"Bill, how did you know that Fleur was the one?" I asked my older brother, who was bouncing a strawberry-blonde haired child on his knee. He looked up, an odd look on his face.

"Could've been the Veela powers…" he said vaguely. I shook my head, urging him to answer sensibly.

"To tell you the truth, Charlie," Bill replied, "She just kinda grew on me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Back when she was working for Gringotts in Diagon Alley, I used to get annoyed with the other guys who ogled her. They asked me how I could be resisting her obvious beauty, so I told them that I was just not interested," Bill explained. I asked him why he was oblivious to her charms when I myself had seen the affects of even her partial Veela heritage.

"Apparently it only affects those men who are in real want of a girlfriend, or other such acquaintance with a woman,"

"And you just weren't interested?" Bill nodded his head and sighed as his daughter pulled at his long ponytail. Mum still insisted that he cut it short now that he was a father, but Bill refused and Fleur backed him up on the matter.

"Well I only 'ad eyes for Bill," came a thickly accented voice from the door. Fleur had arrived home from her work as a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was busily shaking out the soot from her cloak. As she came into the room she bent down to give Bill a peck on the lips and embrace her daughter.

"Bonjour Charlie," she said, "'ow nice eet ees to 'ave you here this evening, will you be here long?"

"My girlfriend has gone to visit her sister for a few days while we are here, so Bill has invited me to stay here for a few days, if that's alright by you," at that, Fleur lit up and began to wave her wand around to ready a room for me and the evening meal.

"Eet ees wonderful to 'ave family here!" Fleur exclaimed as she sat down, "My sister Gabrielle will be here in ze summer to improve her Eenglish before she travels ze world."

As Fleur sent tableware and pots flying in all directions around the kitchen, she continued to mutter about her day at work. Her furious French tone indicated the kind of day she had.

"As I was saying," Bill said, "I helped Fleur with her English, and pretty soon I was growing to love her more and more,"

"And zen he proposed to moi!" Fleur said in a dreamy voice, "now we 'ave a wonderful house and our darling daughter!"

That night I tossed and turned beneath the sheets on 'my' bed, listening to the sounds of the sea swooshing up the beach. Bill had grown to love Fleur and seemed to be happy in his choice. I on the other hand fell in love with Irena, my Romanian girlfriend, as soon as I met her on a dragon expedition to Tibet. I guessed that she was spending time with her sister to be sure about her choice in me too.

Irena even agreed to meet my mother, even after the 'horror' story of Fleur's first impression. All she said was that my family sounded interesting and that she would love to get to know them. Perhaps that is my reason.

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Author's Note: Sorry for my bad French accent! Irena is a completely made up character, so any resemblance to other characters/real persons is purely coincidental. Please review and tell me what you think! 


	4. Percy

Family

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK. I am merely borrowing for a creative outlet.

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4 – Percy

My first night back in my childhood home was rather surreal. First of all, we had a few more people staying than usual which caused our home to be rather cramped. The second was that there was no Fred to help George cause mischief. It was that factor that caused my childhood home to feel rather empty, despite the number of extra inhabitants following the days after the defeat of You-Know-Who.

As I lay in my bed that first night, I felt guilty for the grief I caused mum and dad. I got the feeling that my younger siblings would always think of me as a prat. Then there was a feeling of emptiness knowing that Fred would no longer be helping George instigate pranks against mum, Ron, and me.

The next day, everyone was left to their own devices, mum not her usual self. I sat in my room, watching as George, and Ron and his friends sat around in the yard talking about who-knows-what. It was only when Ginny knocked on my door that I realised that it was almost dinner time. Normally mum would've force-fed lunch and afternoon tea down our throats on the dot.

"Ginny?" I asked, "Do you think I'm a prat?"

She laughed in the way that only younger sisters could. I realised that she was almost of age, and how much scarier she was than mum.

"'Course I do Perce," Ginny replied, "What kind of sibling would I be if I didn't think my brothers were prats at some time in their lives… mind you I currently think that Ron's more of a prat than you are."

I smiled as she laughed more, ruffling my hair. "Anyways," she said, "I've made dinner tonight seeing as mum still isn't herself…"

"I kind of feel guilty," I admitted after a short period of silence.

"About Fred?" Ginny asked. I nodded solemnly, not meeting her eye. She sat down next to me and sighed.

"Everyone feels guilty about Fred, but what most people fail to see is that he was an adult and it was his choice to be involved just as it was yours," Ginny said, "We can't go about our lives feeling guilty that Fred is no longer with us."

I nodded and watched as Ginny – my baby sister – stood up, reminded me to wash up for dinner, and left the room. I placed my head in my hands only to be startled at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

George stood at my door, his missing ear replaced by one that looked like a green goblin ear. He had taken to conjuring replacement ears to make himself appear 'less holey', and if the mood took him, he'd conjure some of the weirdest and oddest replacements. Today, it seemed, was one of those days.

"Hiya Perce," George said, grinning from ear to ear. I looked up at him.

"What?" George asked, indignantly, "Aren't I allowed to talk casually with my exulted older brother?"

"Shouldn't you be more upset?" I asked. George shrugged and entered my room. He looked around and sighed.

"You should've let me and Fred redecorate…" he said simply, tutting as he went. "Oh and as for me being more upset? I am; it's just that I choose to keep on. Fred's still with me, mate."

When I saw the grin he had on his face, I couldn't help but crack up laughing. Shocked, George joined in. When our laughter died, George extended a hand.

"Come on," he said, "Ginny will hex us into last century if we don't get down to dinner soon."

As I sat at the table with my family and Ron's friends Hermione and Harry Potter, I felt the happiest I had been for a long time. I was home, and this time I wasn't going to compromise my family for anything!

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Author's Note: That was hard to write, but it's finally done! Please review! 


	5. Fred

Family

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or any other affiliated characters. They are JK's creations that I am simply borrowing for the purpose of this fanfiction.

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5 – Fred

I awoke; oddly pain free, to see something white and shimmery inches from my face. I blinked, my mind trying to register what the odd thing in front of my face was.

"We have an ickle Weasel!" shouted a voice with glee – a voice that came from the shimmery shape. Screaming, I shot up – and through – the shape.

"Calm down Weasel," said the voice again, cackling and zooming round the room. It was then I realised that I was back at Hogwarts. I shook my head.

"Looks like you're missing something, Weasel!" cackled the voice again, "Weasel's lost his marbles!"

"Peeves!" called a voice. The cackling stopped, only to be replaced by a smarmy suck-up voice. As quick as a flash, the resident poltergeist of Hogwarts was propelled away. I looked around to see The Bloody Baron – the Slytherin Ghost. He had a slight look of annoyance on his face which seemed to dim into a serious look after Peeves' disappearance.

"Come with me, Weasley," The Baron ordered, "You won't get anywhere sitting there looking lost."

I followed him until we came to a dead end. As the Bloody Baron went through the wall, I stayed where I was.

"Hey!" I called, "I can't –"

The Baron stuck his head back through the wall, gave me a sarcastic look and dragged me through. I went through a wall… as if I were a ghost or something. Inside the elaborate room sat the ghosts of Hogwarts: Nearly-Headless Nick of Gryffindor, The Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, The Fat Friar of Hufflepuff, Moaning Myrtle, and a number of others that I had seen but never heard of before.

"Ah Fred Weasley," Nick said, "Welcome to your first death-day party!"

"Hang on…" I said, "Whatya mean 'death-day'?"

Every single ghost in the room shook their heads, and I caught whispers of 'he's in denial' and 'poor little thing…'. Frustrated I banged my fist against the table… only to have it go through. The ghosts looked at me in increasing pity.

"Ok…" I said calming down, "Explain it to me… how did I end up here?"

Nick went on to explain that during the Battle of Hogwarts, I had been hit by a killing curse. There was no need for further explanation. I nodded and took a large plate of cake that the Grey Lady – the Ravenclaw resident ghost – had offered me. Eagerly, I wolfed the large slab of cake down, only to be met by raucous laughter on behalf of the ghosts. Looking down, I saw the large slab of cake splattered on the floor.

"Don't worry…" came a sulky voice from the corner, "You don't need to eat anyway." I spun around to see a girl with horn-rimmed glasses wearing a school uniform. I had heard of her before, Ron had mentioned her to me on a few occasions. All I knew of her was that she generally haunted the girls' bathrooms on the first floor and spilt water everywhere when she was being – in Ron's words – melodramatic.

Insulted that I didn't remember her name, she wailed and left the room with the assistance of one of the pipes that carried water to the upper floors. The rest of the guests were not phased by her behaviour.

As the party wound down, Nick pulled me aside and told me that I could 'haunt' other places I had been in my life that I had left some of my 'essence' as a wizard. Without explaining, he left me to my thoughts.

Thinking hard, I imagined 'The Burrow' – my childhood home. If it were any other day, mum would be in the kitchen pointing her wand furiously at pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils in order to make enough for six growing boys, a sprouting girl, a hungry husband, and whoever else decided to join. Ginny would be outside, secretly practicing Quidditch, and Ron would be furiously scratching a note to Harry or Hermione.

Dad would be half way between the office and home; Percy would be hiding in his room reading about boring things like Ministry policy on the trade of cauldrons, and if Bill and Charlie were home, they would be helping mum cook dinner and telling her about their latest adventures in their foreign homes.

"AGGGGGHHHHHH!!" came a scream. Looking around frantically, I saw that I was in the familiar surrounding of the kitchen in The Burrow. It was Ron who had let out the uncharacteristic girly scream.

"I almost mistook you for a girl, Ronerella!" I laughed, my voice oddly echoing around the room. Within moments; Ginny, George, mum, dad, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Harry, Hermione, and our cousin Mafalda were crowding the small kitchen gaping at me.

"Ah, you'll get used to it!" I said, grinning like a madman. And like old times, George wore an identical look. It was certainly going to be fun to be a ghost!

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Author's Note: I always had a hunch that Fred would be one of those wizards who became a ghost, so because I haven't yet seen anyone put that into the fanfiction realm I did it myself! Also I added Mafalda – the "character that might have been" – she was one of JK's characters that was going to be included in book 4 but got written out. She is a Weasley family member but would've been in Slytherin. 


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